Shelf structure of showcase

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a shelf structure of a showcase in which commodities can be displayed in an orderly way without a shift of position of a partitioning member when the commodities are arranged on a shelf plate or taken out of the shelf plate. A guide member for locking the rear end side of the partitioning member from the front is provided on the rear end side of the shelf plate, a locking portion locked to the guide member is provided on the rear end side of the partitioning member, and a contact portion that is brought into contact with a commodity drop preventing plate extending upward from the front end side of the shelf plate from the rear is provided on the front end side of the partitioning member. Therefore, the partitioning member can be installed surely to the shelf plate, and commodities can always be displayed in an orderly way without a shift of position of the partitioning member when the commodities are taken out or replenished.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a shelf structure of a showcaseinstalled in a store.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, there has been known a showcase of this kind whichincludes a showcase body, for example, the front surface of which isopen and a plurality of shelves provided above and below in the showcasebody so that commodities are displayed on the shelves.

As a shelf structure of the showcase, there has been known a structurewhich has a shelf plate for placing commodities on the top surfacethereof and a plurality of partitioning members for partitioning a spaceabove the shelf plate in the width direction so that commodities aredisplayed by being placed on the shelf plate partitioned by thepartitioning members according to the kind of commodities.

However, in the conventional shelf structure of showcase, each of thepartitioning members is formed by a resin-made member having an L shapein cross section that extends in the front and rear direction, and thepartitioning members are placed without being fixed on the shelf plateto partition the space above the shelf plate in the width direction.Therefore, when commodities are put on the shelf plate or taken out ofthe shelf plate, the installation position of partitioning member shiftseasily, the commodities cannot be displayed in an orderly way.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a shelf structure of ashowcase in which commodities can be displayed in an orderly way withouta shift of position of a partitioning member when the commodities arearranged on a shelf plate or taken out of the shelf plate.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a shelfstructure of a showcase including a shelf plate for placing commoditieson the top surface thereof; a partitioning member which has a lockingportion that is locked to the rear end side of the shelf plate and acontact portion that is brought into contact with a portion protrudingupward from the front end side of the shelf plate from the rear and isused to partition a space above the shelf plate in the width direction;and a locking member which is provided on the rear end side of the shelfplate to lock the locking portion of the partitioning member.

Thereby, the locking portion provided on the rear end side of thepartitioning member is locked to the locking member, and the contactportion provided on the front end side of the partitioning member isbrought into contact with the portion protruding upward from the frontend side of the shelf plate from the rear, so that the partitioningmember is installed surely to the shelf plate without a positionalshift. Therefore, since the partitioning member can be installed surelyto the shelf plate, commodities can always be displayed in an orderlyway without a shift of position of the partitioning member when thecommodities are taken out or replenished.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be made apparent by the following description andaccompanied drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of a showcase in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the showcase shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an essential portion of a commodityshelf;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an essential portion of thecommodity shelf shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a commodity shelf, showing aninstallation method of a partitioning member;

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a commodity shelf, showing aninstallation method of a partitioning member;

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a commodity shelf, showing aninstallation method of a partitioning member;

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of a commodity shelf, showing a state inwhich commodities are piled up; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an essential portion of a commodityshelf, showing another example.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A showcase having this shelf structure includes a showcase body 10having an opening on the front surface, a commodity housing section 20formed in the showcase body 10, and a machine room 30 formed below theshowcase body 10.

The front surface side, the top surface side, the back surface side, andthe bottom surface side of the showcase body 10 are covered by aninsulating wall 11, and each of the right and left side surfaces iscovered by an insulating wall 12 extending along the top surface side,the back surface side, and the bottom surface side and a glass plate 13provided on the front side of the insulating wall 12.

The commodity housing section 20 is formed by a top plate 21, a backplate 22, and a bottom plate 23, which are provided so as to be separatefrom the insulating wall 11. In the commodity housing section 20,commodities A are displayed. Also, a ventilation duct 24 is providedbetween the insulating wall 11 and the top plate 21, the back plate 22,and the bottom plate 23. In the ventilation duct 24, a blower 25 forallowing the air in the commodity housing section 20 to flow and acooler 26 for cooling the air allowed to flow by the blower 25.

The machine room 30 is provided with a compressor 31 and a condenser 32,which are connected to the cooler 26 provided in the ventilation duct 24by piping, and a blower 33 for condenser, which allows the airheat-exchanging with the condenser 32 to flow.

In the showcase constructed as described above, the air allowed to flowinto the ventilation duct 24 by the blower 25 through an air intake port24a provided at the lower end of opening is cooled by the cooler 26, andthereafter flows out through an air discharge port 24b provided at theupper end of opening. Thereby, an air curtain is formed from the upperend side to the lower end side in the opening of the showcase body 10,by which the commodity housing section 20 is cooled.

Also, a commodity shelf 40 installed in the commodity housing section 20of showcase body 10 includes a plurality of shelf plates 41 arrangedabove and below to place the commodities A, a plurality of partitioningmembers 42 for partitioning a space above each of the shelf plates 41 inthe width direction, and a guide member 43 which is provided on the rearend side of each of the shelf plates 41 to serve as a locking member forlocking the rear end side of the partitioning member 42.

Each of the shelf plates 41 is formed by a member the top surface ofwhich is formed into a substantially rectangular shape, and both ends inthe width direction thereof are supported by a pair of shelf supports 41a. Each of the shelf plates 41 is installed in the commodity housingsection 20 by locking the rear ends of the shelf supports 41 a to theback surface side of the commodity housing section 20. Also, on thefront end face of the shelf plate 41, a card holder 41 b for holdingcards each displaying the name, price, etc. of commodity is providedover the width direction of the shelf plate 41. Further, on the topsurface on the front end side of the shelf plate 41, a commodity droppreventing plate 41c for preventing commodities A from dropping from thefront end side of the shelf plate 41 is provided so as to extend upwardover the width direction of the shelf plate 41.

Each of the partitioning members 42 is formed by a rod-shaped metallicmember having elasticity. Each of the partitioning members 42 is formedby bending a rod-shaped member into a vertical wavy shape over the frontand rear direction. The partitioning member 42 has upper partitioningportions 42 a located on the upper side of the partitioning member 42and lower partitioning portions 42 b located on the lower side of thepartitioning member 42, which are provided alternately in the front andrear direction. Also, the partitioning member 42 is provided with apredetermined clearance between the top surface of the shelf plate 41and the lower partitioning portions 42 b by forming the front end sideand the rear end side thereof so as to extend downward. Further, at therear end of the partitioning member 42, there is provided a lockingportion 42 c that is formed by fixing a central portion in the widthdirection of a rod-shaped member extending in the width direction so asto be locked to the guide member 43. Also, at the front end of thepartitioning member 42, there is provided a contact portion 42 d that isformed by fixing a central portion in the width direction of arod-shaped member extending in the width direction so as to be broughtinto contact with the back surface side of the commodity drop preventingplate 41 c.

The partitioning member 42 is formed so that the length from the lockingportion 42 c to the contact portion 42 d is larger than the distancebetween the back surface side of the commodity drop preventing plate 41c and the guide member 43. Also, the partitioning member 42 is formed soas to be elastically deformable until the length from the lockingportion 42 c to the contact portion 42 d becomes smaller than thedistance between the back surface side of the commodity drop preventingplate 4 1 c and the guide member 43. Further, the partitioning member 42is formed so that the length from the locking portion 42 c to thecontact portion 42 d of the partitioning member 42 can be changedarbitrarily by the plastic deformation of the rod-shaped member byapplying a force larger than a predetermined amount in the front andrear direction.

The guide member 43, which is formed by a member extending in the widthdirection, is provided over the width direction on the rear end side ofthe shelf plate 41. The guide member 43 is formed with an extendingportion 43 a extending frontward on the upper end side thereof so thatthe locking portion 42 c of the partitioning member 42 can be lockedbetween the extending portion 43 a and the top surface of the shelfplate 41.

In the shelf structure of the showcase constructed as described above,in order to install the partitioning member 42 to the shelf plate 41,the locking portion 42 c of the partitioning member 42 is first insertedand locked between the extending portion 43 a of the guide member 43 andthe top surface of the shelf plate 41 as shown in FIG. 5. Next, as shownin FIG. 6, the partitioning member 42 is compressed in the front andrear direction by elastic deformation and the contact portion 42 dthereof is brought into contact with the back surface side of thecommodity drop preventing plate 41c. Thereby, the partitioning member 42is arranged above the shelf plate 41 at right angles with respect to thefront end side and the rear end side of the shelf plate 41 by thelocking portion 42 c and the contact portion 42 d, and as shown in FIG.7, the commodities A are arranged so as to be aligned between thepartitioning members 42.

Also, in the case where the commodities A having a small heightdimension are placed on the shelf plate 41, the movement in the widthdirection of the commodities A is regulated by the lower partitioningportions 42 b. Thereby, the commodities A having a small heightdimension can be displayed so as to be aligned in the front and reardirection. Also, in the case where a plurality of commodities A having asmall height dimension are piled up vertically and are placed on theshelf plate 41, as shown in FIG. 8, the movement in the width directionof the lower-side commodities A is regulated by the lower partitioningportions 42 b, and the movement in the width direction of the upper-sidecommodities A is regulated by the upper partitioning portions 42 a.Thereby, the commodities A having a small height dimension can bedisplayed in a vertically piled state so as to be aligned in the frontand rear direction.

Also, since the partitioning member 42 is installed to the shelf plate41 by the locking portion 42 c and the contact portion 42 d, even in thecase where a plurality of commodities A are placed on the shelf plate41, the partitioning member 42 can be attached to and detached from theshelf plate 41.

Also, in the case where the top surface of the shelf plate 41 iscleaned, the commodities A placed on the shelf plate 41 are removed, andthe whole of the top surface of the shelf plate 41 can be cleanedthrough the clearance provided between the top surface of the shelfplate 41 and the lower partitioning portions 42 b.

Also, since the partitioning member 42 is installed to the shelf plate41 by the locking portion 42 c and the contact portion 42 d, even in thecase where the shelf plate 41 is covered with a decorative sheet, thepartitioning member 42 can be installed from over the sheet.

Also, since the dimension in the front and rear direction of thepartitioning member 42 can be changed by plastic deformation caused by aforce larger than the predetermined amount that is applied in the frontand rear direction, the partitioning member 42 can be installed to theshelf plate 41 having a different front and rear dimension.

Thus, according to this embodiment, the guide member 43 for locking therear end side of the partitioning member 42 from the front is providedon the rear end side of the shelf plate 41, the locking portion 42 cthat is locked to the guide member 43 is provided on the rear end sideof the partitioning member 42, and the contact portion 42 d that isbrought into contact with the commodity drop preventing plate 41 cextending upward from the front end side of the shelf plate 41 from therear is provided on the front end side of the partitioning member 42.Therefore, the partitioning member 42 can be installed surely to theshelf plate 41, and the commodities A can always be displayed in anorderly way without a positional shift of the partitioning member 42occurring when the commodities A are taken out or replenished.

Also, since the contact portion 42 d of the partitioning member 42 isbrought into contact with the commodity drop preventing plate 41 cprovided on the shelf plate 41 from the rear, the contact portion 42 dof the partitioning member 42 can be brought into contact with the frontend side of the shelf plate 41 without the use of a special-purposemember, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Also, since the partitioning member 42 is formed by bending a rod-shapedmember, and is provided so as to be elastically deformable in the frontand rear direction, the partitioning member 42 can be formed by a singlemember, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Also, the contactportion 42 d can be pressed on the commodity drop preventing plate 41 cby the elasticity of the rod-shaped rod, so that the partitioning member42 can be installed surely to the shelf plate 41. Further, since thepartitioning member 42 is formed by bending a rod-shaped member, thecommodities A can be checked visually from both sides through thepartitioning member 42. Also, the partitioning member 42 formed by arod-shaped metallic member has an advantage that there is no adhesion ofdirt due to static electricity unlike the conventional resin-madepartitioning member.

Also, the partitioning member 42 has the upper partitioning portions 42a and the lower partitioning portions 42 b because the partitioningmember 42 is formed by bending a rod-shaped member into a vertical wavyshape over the front and rear direction. Therefore, the movement in thewidth direction of the commodities A can be restrained despite theheight dimensions of the commodities A, so that the commodities A placedon the shelf plate 41 can be aligned surely.

Also, since the partitioning member 42 has the clearance providedbetween the top surface of the shelf plate 41 and the lower partitioningportions 42 b, the top surface of the shelf plate 41 can be cleanedwithout removing the partitioning member 42.

Also, since the partitioning member 42 has the locking portion 42 c andthe contact portion 42 d each consisting of a rod-shaped memberextending in the width direction, the locking portion 42 c and thecontact portion 42 d can be installed along the guide member 43 and thecommodity drop preventing plate 41 c, respectively, so that thepartitioning member 42 can be installed at right angles with respect tothe width direction of the shelf plate 41.

Also, since the partitioning member 42 is formed so that the dimensionin the front and rear direction can be changed by plastic deformationcaused by a force larger than the predetermined amount that is appliedin the front and rear direction, the front and rear dimension of thepartitioning member 42 can be changed according to the front and reardimension of the shelf plate 41, so that the parts can be made common.

In the above-described embodiment, a shelf structure of an open showcasethe front surface of which is open is shown. However, the presentinvention can be applied to showcases of other modes, such as a closedshowcase in which, for example, the front surface, the back surface, andboth side surfaces thereof each are covered by a transparent glassplate.

Also, in the above-described embodiment, there is shown a shelfstructure in which the partitioning member 42 is formed by bending arod-shaped member into a vertical wavy shape over the front and reardirection, and the partitioning member 42 is provided with the upperpartitioning portions 42 a and the lower partitioning portions 42 balternately in the front and rear direction. However, as shown in FIG.9, a partitioning member 52 may be formed by bending a rod-shaped memberinto a crank shape, and the partitioning member 52 may be provided withupper partitioning portions 52 a and lower partitioning portions 52 balternately in the front and rear direction.

Also, in the above-described embodiment, there is shown a shelfstructure in which the locking portion 42 c and the contact portion 42 dof the partitioning member 42 are formed by rod-shaped members extendingin the width direction. However, only either one of the locking portion42 c and the contact portion 42 d may be formed by a rod-shaped memberextending in the width direction. In this case, the partitioning member42 can be arranged at right angles with respect to the width directionof the shelf plate 41 by one of the locking portion 42 c and the contactportion 42 d.

Also, in the above-described embodiment, there is shown a shelfstructure in which the contact portion 42 d of the partitioning member42 is brought into contact with the commodity drop preventing plate 41 cprovided on the front end side of the shelf plate 41 from the rear.However, a protruding portion with which the contact portion 42 d comesinto contact may be formed over the width direction of the shelf plate41 on the front end side of the shelf plate 41, or a contact member withwhich the contact portion 42 d comes into contact may be provideddetachably over the width direction of the shelf plate 41 on the frontend side of the shelf plate 41.

The preferred mode described in this specification is a typical one andnot a restrictive one. The scope of invention is shown by the appendedclaims, and all changes and modifications included in the meaning ofclaims are embraced in the present invention.

1. A shelf structure of a showcase, comprising: a shelf plate forplacing commodities on the top surface thereof; a partitioning memberwhich has a locking portion that is locked to the rear end side of theshelf plate and a contact portion that is brought into contact with aportion protruding upward from the front end side of the shelf platefrom the rear and is used to partition a space above the shelf plate inthe width direction; and a locking member which is provided on the rearend side of the shelf plate to lock the locking portion of thepartitioning member.
 2. The shelf structure of a showcase according toclaim 1, wherein: the shelf plate is provided with a commodity droppreventing plate extending upward over the width direction of the shelfplate on the front end side thereof; and the contact portion of thepartitioning member is brought into contact with the commodity droppreventing plate from the rear.
 3. The shelf structure of a showcaseaccording to claim 1, wherein: the partitioning member is formed bybending a rod-shaped member, and is provided so as to be elasticallydeformable in the front and rear direction.
 4. The shelf structure of ashowcase according to claim 3, wherein: the partitioning member isprovided with upper partitioning portions located on the upper side andlower partitioning portions located on the lower side arrangedalternately in the front and rear direction.
 5. The shelf structure of ashowcase according to claim 4, wherein: the partitioning member has apredetermined clearance provided between the top surface of the shelfplate and the lower partitioning portions.
 6. The shelf structure of ashowcase according to claim 3, wherein: the partitioning member isprovided so that at least one of the locking portion and the contactportion extends in the width direction of the shelf plate.
 7. The shelfstructure of a showcase according to claim 3, wherein: the partitioningmember is provided so that the length thereof in the front and reardirection can be changed by applying a force larger than a predeterminedamount in the front and rear direction.